Aftermath
by RachelMarsters
Summary: Set after BP, Dimitri doesn't die Rose does. THis is how her loved ones are coping.
1. Lissa

Disclaimer—I don't own anything:)

* * *

"We've all known Rose since she made her debut her as a feisty five year old," There was a sea of nodding heads and smiling faces. "The day we became friends was the day we were just beginning to learn to write. We were partnered up and told to help each other, after learning she had to write Rosemarie Hathaway and that I had to write Vasilia Dragomir instead of just Rose and Lissa, she chucked her book the teacher and called her a Fascist Bastard. Mrs. Greene retired after that year," Lissa stopped and took a deep breath, tears falling freely and unashamedly down her face. Even with her make up running and face red, she was a vision, filled with the love of remembering her fallen sister. "As all of you know, Rose was in the car accident that claimed my family. If we were inseparable before, we were practically Siamese twins afterwards. She even looked after me for two years when we ran away from the academy. She thought of nothing else but my safety and well being." Lissa paused for another deep breath, "Even though Rose had a quick temper, she never did anything she didn't feel was just. She was not only my guardian, but one to anyone who she thought needing guarding. More often than not, you saw a smile on her face and tried not to let anyone get her down. Rosemarie Leigh Hathaway was not only one of the best people you could meet, she was my sister."  
At the end of her speech, Lissa lit a candle on the podium and stepped off the stage, taking her place in the front row. Christian snaked his hand into hers and gave it a gentle squeeze which she tried to return but felt too weak. The rest of the ceremony passed in a blur, different faces crying, sharing the Rosemarie Hathaway they knew.  
_She would've hated this_, Lissa thought numbly as she looked around and saw all the red, swollen faces. _She hated funerals._ _She hated people crying, and unless you were going out to have fun and be sexy, she thought black should not be worn._ With this last thought, Lissa looked down at her own dress, a knee length, loose fitting black dress. She wanted to rip it off, she had wanted to wear her powder blue sweater that Rose had gotten her just because she thought it would look good on her and it did. It hugged every curve of Lissa's body which was a task seeing as she was small and frail. Dimly, she was made aware of the music playing as everyone got up and left the auditorium. She allowed Christian to lead her to the cafeteria where there would be lunch. Christian sat her at a table, telling her he'd get something for the both of them. She just nodded her head, not wanting to speak. As she scanned the crowd uninterestedly, she saw someone walk in that was an hour late this spurred Lissa out of her catatonic state and made her rush over to the red headed woman.  
"What do you think you're doing here?" Lissa growled.  
Janine Hathaway drew herself up to her full height, which wasn't much and spoke, "I am here to attend my daughter's service, just as you are Princess Dragomir."  
"You couldn't even bother to come to her funeral!" Lissa screamed, not caring about the stares or whispers going on around her, "You think you can just dump your own child and then try to act like nothing happened?! You couldn't even be found when she was in the hospital, she asked for you, did you know that? After everything you've done to her, the only thing she said was about you." Lissa spat venomously at the woman. Janine just looked at the young girl as you would a child throwing a temper tantrum. A hand clamped around Lissa's wrist and dragged her out of the cafeteria.  
Christian said nothing, just looked into her eyes and Lissa began crying for what seemed like the hundredth time that day.  
"Christian, I can't live without her, I can't live without her," She sobbed in his shoulder, Christian didn't know what to say so he settled with rubbing her back, cursing Rose for doing this to them.


	2. Christian

I was fighting a losing battle and I knew it. What else could I do though? What were you supposed to do when you saw the one you love crashing and there was nothing you could do to stop them from burning?  
I sat by and watched as the person I loved most in the world let herself get sucked more and more into darkness after living through her best friend's death. I had talked to her therapist and she told me Lissa was going through the normal grieving process and that it might take months before she started being herself again so I waited. I sat by and just let her know that I was here and that I wasn't leaving. I held her as she woke up night after night sobbing. I caught her cutting and took away anything that could be harmful. I got her up, showered, and dressed each day. Some days I felt as though I had a child, but I quickly banished those thoughts as soon as they came. I was all Lissa had, who would take care of her and love her if I was gone?  
Today was worse than usual.  
"Lissa," I said, taking her hand and trying to pull her off of the chair she was on, "C'mon honey, you need to eat, its been two days, you'll get sick."  
She batted my hand away harshly. She was too absorbed in the photo album she was looking at, tracing Rose's face in each one. I don't know what happened, but something in me snapped.  
"Rose is dead! Rose isn't coming back!" I yelled at her, "Do you think you're the only one hurting? Do you think about anyone but yourself? Do you think I like waiting on you day in and day out? I know you've been cutting again. I know you've been drinking and doing god knows what else. You know what? You and Adrian might want to die, but I don't!" I whirled around wanting to leave her disgusting presence when I heard a small voice say,  
"Don't go,"  
I stopped, flexing my hands trying to get the flames to go out.  
"Christian, I'm sorry. I really am," Lissa wasn't crying for once, "I'll try. I promise, just please don't leave me."  
This was the most I've heard her talk for a long time, but I stayed rooted to my place. I was torn. I was tired of being everyone's rock. Rose was dead. I couldn't keep living around people who wanted to join her.  
"You try, then you come to me," I told her as I walked out of the door.


	3. Adrian

I was in the hospital again, this time not having any recollection whatsoever of how I got there but I had a pretty good idea why. I looked around me

Christian was sitting on a couch with a sleeping Lissa. I tried not to make eye contact with him but it didn't work, his eyes bore into mine.  
"You have to stop doing this," He said quietly.  
I turned my head and pretended I didn't hear him.  
It's been six month since my precious Rose died.  
Six horrendous months.  
Six lifeless months.  
Six fucking months.  
In those six months I've overdosed on prescription pills twice and have gotten alcohol poisoning three times, four including this time.  
"Lissa can't keep up with you, it's hurting her and you know it. You're just too selfish to care," Christian's voice floated over to me.  
"Yeah, well it's not like I'm asking her to heal me," I answered, only hearing the words come out of my mouth.  
"Just because you want to die doesn't mean you have to take her down with you," Christian said, displaying his past fire for the first time in months.  
I didn't want to fight with him. I didn't want anything, only her.  
"It's the only time I can hear her voice, see her face, remember her clearly," I told him, hating myself for my voice cracking, "It hurts so fucking much. I just want to be with her, can you blame me?" I asked him, turning my face to his and I saw that in that moment, Christian and I understood each other perfectly. I nodded to him and turned away, hoping I would fall asleep and see my Rose again.


	4. Dimitri

Every time I plunged my stake into a heart of a Strigoi, it brought me back to why I was here in the first place. Rose. She was my light, she made life meaningful and worthwhile. She made me feel as I have never felt before and how I've never felt since.  
A week after her service, I went and spoke to Lissa. I told her I was leaving. She just nodded with a faraway look on her face. Christian stepped forward as if to shake my hand, or to say something to me but I ignored him and left. He was with her when she fell, and for that I have never been able to look at him since for fear of what I might do to him. It wasn't fair, me blaming him for her death but I just couldn't help it. If he had been quicker, I would have her in my arms instead of this now dead body of a monster. I shoved the corpse off of me, dusted myself off, and walked to the place I've been calling home these days. "Home" was a Motel 6 just off of the main road here in…wait where was I? I looked at my phone, November 6, 2009 it read. That can't be right, if that was right then I would have only been here a week. I should call Lissa soon; I wouldn't want her to worry. She says she likes me to call because she gets lonely and likes talking to me but I know that's it's really because she's checking to make sure that I'm alive. I heard she's doing better, Christian snapped her out of her spiraling depression. I like to check up on the kids. Rose would've wanted someone to look after them. I hear Christian wants to propose but doesn't think it's an appropriate time, everyone is still healing. Janine is back after her leave, she doesn't fight with everyone as much as she used to. Ivashkov was admitted and he's doing better. After all of his attempted suicides, the queen stepped in, one of the few decent things she's done. I couldn't help but feeling sorry for the kid, because that's all he was, a kid. When Rose was first brought in, she was in bad shape, really bad shape. I knew Lissa could heal her if I could find her, but I couldn't and time was running out. When I spotted Adrian, I grabbed him without second thought, I towed him to Rose's room and told him to heal her. He couldn't though, he was too drunk. The next few moments were a blur, I slammed him against a wall and roared profanities at him, I kept hitting him and hitting him until I was snapped out of it by the sound I was dreading. A flat beep of the machine Rose was hooked up to. I stopped and let him sink to the floor and he was quickly hauled out by doctors. (I heard I gave him a concussion and he doesn't remember any of what happened in those few minutes, which I'm grateful for. He shouldn't have that guilt on his conscience.) In a frenzied rush, they tried to get Rose's heart to start up again but they couldn't. She was really gone. Then I did something I remember telling Rose to do many times, I ran. Since then, I never stopped running, going from town to town hunting every Strigoi I could and killing them. Sometimes they got away, but often times I found myself staring down at a lifeless body, much like I did about eight months ago. 243 days ago, but who's counting? Maybe someday I would find peace, but I knew that day wasn't any time soon so I would keep this routine up. I would keep ridding the world of the creatures that ruined the lives of everyone around me by taking the life of one young girl.


End file.
